RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association is hosting a two-day conference in Rapid City to address safety concerns on the region’s reservations.

According to the Association, current federal funding is 13 percent of total need which has led to a diminished number of federal and tribal law enforcement officers and severely limited resources on all South Dakota, North Dakota, and Nebraska reservations.

 “The level of violent crime now plaguing our South Dakota Tribal Nations’ Reservations has escalated past the crisis level,” GPTCA Executive Director A. Gay Kingman said. “Our people have endured for too long and have extremely high rates of violent crime, drug crime, alcohol and drug abuse, and an increase in juvenile delinquency. All combined, these crimes have even started spilling off into our border towns and urban areas like Rapid City, and we need to talk about it.”

The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association said that the disparity in law enforcement officers and equipment is not simply a budget issue. Lack of funding has created a life-threatening public safety crisis. These shortages directly impact emergency response times, officer safety, community policing, recruitment and retention, criminal investigations, drug enforcement, domestic violence response, and the protection of vulnerable citizens.

“The time has come to address what BIA has already said back to us: our police departments have only a small fraction of the number of police officers needed to adequately serve our population sizes, and equipment is outdated,” GTPCA Chairman and Oglala Sioux Tribe President, Frank Star Comes Out said. “Public safety funding is a treaty responsibility, so where is the other 87 percent of our need going?”

Tribal leaders and law enforcement professionals will develop unified priorities addressing funding, staffing, federal responsibilities, equipment, drug enforcement, courts, detention, and public safety resources.

Participants include Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association Tribal Leader Membership, South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden, BIA Office of Justice Services Director Charles Addington, IHS Great Plains Regional Director Joseph Amiotte, Oglala Sioux Tribe Police Chief Jason Lone Hill, U.S. Attorney’s Office Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Peterman, Representatives of senators John Thune and Mike Rounds, and Tribal Chiefs of Police and public safety officials from across the Great Plains.

The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association, Inc, (GPTCA) is an organization that includes 16 tribal nations across South Dakota, North Dakota, and Nebraska.